Profile Information

About Me

Since 1995, a year after I was forced into a very early retirement due to Multiple Sclerosis, I have owned and operated a daily newsgathering service out of my home, for a clientele comprised of TV newscasters, Op-Ed columnists, book authors, a national wire-service and some online publications. I post many of the news articles I gather, here on DU. I also post news articles and Op-Eds written/reported/authored by my list of subscribers/clientele.

Representative Trey Gowdy (R-SC) fired back at Harry Reid last night after the Senate Minority Leader suggested that James Comey broke federal laws with his announcement about Hillary Clinton.

In a letter Reid put out last night, he accused the FBI director of practicing a “double standard” and using his position to spread negative innuendo in order to influence the election. Fox’s Bret Baier asked Gowdy for his thoughts on Sunday night, to which, the congressman wondered if Reid is the one who’s really under the influence.

“Thank God he’s leaving, is my initial reaction,” Gowdy said. “My second reaction is: I did not know Mormons used drugs. And anyone who is capable of sending out that press release has to be under the influence of something.”

Howdy went on to say that Clinton authored her own actions by having a private server while she worked as the secretary of state.

I voted for (George W.) Bush because I think he’s got certain things that are excellent, including a tax policy that’s excellent and going to prove to be excellent, but I am not a big fan of the war in Iraq, and I’ve let a lot of people know about it, and perhaps that’s being proven to be correct.

Donald Trump to Don Imus in 2009:

I didn’t (vote for Bush) either, by the way. You’re good. I just thought that guy was a dimwit. You looked at it, and he just didn’t look like he was all there.

CNN’s decision to fire Brazile for her ties to the Clinton campaign rang hypocritical to many who noted that Corey Lewandowski remains on the network’s payroll. CNN has faced significant criticism since hiring Lewandowski in June, after news broke that the former Trump campaign manager continued to receive severance pay from the Trump campaign well into his time as a CNN contributor. Earlier this month, Lewandoski was even spotted low-key traveling with the Trump campaign, going to great lengths to conceal his identity from fellow members of the media.

Monday, people took to Twitter to attack the network for its blatant hypocrisy in firing Brazile.

During an interview on CNN's "New Day," Cummings first said that he was surprised Comey would release a "vague" letter about newly discovered emails so close to the election.

"I was surprised that the director, who has told our committee on several occasions that his number one concern is his reputation, that he would issue a letter that, number one, was so vague. And that, basically, gave Donald Trump a softball to hit over the fence. And he knew, I’m sure, that this is exactly what Donald Trump would do. He would exaggerate," Cummings said. But the congressman also said he was not completely shocked by Comey's letter considering the way Republicans on the Hill reacted to his July decision not to recommend charges against Clinton.

"It doesn’t surprise me, though, in a way that he did this. Because I don’t think the American people have a clue as to how hard the Republicans, particularly on my committee, have been on the FBI," he said.

Cummings noted that Republicans in Congress loved Comey before he did not recommend charges for Clinton, at which point the House GOP "suddenly turned against him."

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) blasted FBI Director James Comey for his “partisan actions” with regard to the 2016 election. Comey’s Friday announcement that the agency is reviewing new materials in the investigation of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server during her time as Secretary of State, said Reid, may be in direct violation of federal law.

The Wall Street Journalreported on Sunday that Reid is preparing a letter to Comey and the FBI accusing the director of prioritizing the interests of one political party over the other in his letter to Congress on Friday — which Comey sent against the advice of the Justice Department and some parties within the FBI.

Reid said that Comey has crossed a line and violated the Hatch Act, which bars government employees from using their positions to advance a political agenda.

“I am writing to inform you that my office has determined that these actions may violate the Hatch Act,” said Reid in a draft of the letter obtained by the Journal. “Through your partisan actions, you may have broken the law.”

In July, The New York Times reported that Trump and Pence “impromptu dinner” after the GOP candidate’s plane was grounded by “mechanical problems.”

“And at some point during the evening, Mr. Trump asked Mr. Pence if he would say yes, were Mr. Trump to offer him the No. 2 slot,” according to the Times. But a Sunday report in the New York Post revealed that Manafort took the dramatic step of lying to Trump about mechanical problems with the plane after his boss tentatively selected Christie for the V.P. slot.

“Trump had wanted Christie but Bridgegate would have been the biggest national story,” Trump source told the Post. “He’d lose the advantage of not being corrupt.”

Although longstanding Department of Justice guidelines have cautioned against disclosing investigative steps within 60 days of an election, Comey recently informed Congress that he had directed the FBI to investigate newly found emails that may or may not be relevant in the probe of Hillary Clinton’s private email server.

Williams explained on Sunday that Comey, in part, broke with tradition — just 11 days before the election — because of Trump’s bogus warnings about a “rigged” system.

-snip-

Williams also pointed out that Comey and the FBI still did not know what was in the emails. “They don’t know whether they are significant to the question of the email investigation,” he explained.

Mediaite founder and ABC News chief legal analyst Dan Abrams said on ABC’s This Week this morning, it’s unlikely that the FBI finds anything in the new emails they’ve uncovered that present anything incriminating.

Abrams told George Stephanopoulos that FBI Director James Comey was clearly “stuck between a rock and a hard place” in thinking over whether to disclose before the election. The problem, he said, is that the note “sounded so ominous” that it led people to jump to conclusions.

Still, though, Abrams said Comey clearly made the determination to disclose rather than risk people finding out this was withheld after the election’s over.

Stephanopoulos pointed out how Comey was criticized for publicly addressing the findings of the Clinton email investigation in the first place. Abrams noted at least in that case, there was something to conclude. This new letter only just says they found something.